The Cauca indigenous council denounced the assassination Sunday of a prominent local indigenous leader.
According to the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), Raúl Mendoza, indigenous governor of the cabildo Peñón and former member of the council, was shot dead inside his home by paramilitary hitmen.
The indigenous governor had made repeated announcements before local authorities and the government office dealing with indigenous issues about ongoing threats against his life and his community for weeks before his assassination, the CRIC said.
The council says the murder is the last of three assassinations that took place in Cauca the past week.
The indigenous leaders blame Colombian President Álvaro Uribe of provoking violence against indigenous and social leaders and asks the international community to “remain on high alert and to express solidarity with the social processes that continue to get
attacked by violence promoted from the spheres of the central government.”